Friday, January 28, 2011

The office in Zona 10

My day started pretty early. I could not sleep any longer because of the jetlag, so I decided to find out if the adapter I brought works (which was happily the case) and check my emails.

At lunch time, I met with Carlos and Augusto of the Guatemala office, and Eduard from Costa Rica. As we drive to the Oikocredit office I started discovering the less sparkling Guatemala City. This city hosts a significant part of the 56.2% of the population living below the national poverty line. 36 years of civil war and a highly unequal income distribution - the richest decile comprises over 42% of Guatemala's overall household income or consumption - makes Guatemala the 10th poorest countries in Latin America.

The office is located at the very end of the Zona 10 – between a wealthier and an emerging area - seems symbolic to Oikocredit’s role to promote global justice by challenging people, churches and others to share their resources through socially responsible investments and by empowering disadvantaged people with credit.

This was the last preparation meeting before the Study Tour 2011 Guatemala officially starts on Sunday, but the first time we meet altogether in person.